Of lightning and bugs
by FrankieQuinn13
Summary: Basically Shino catches Karui's eye. Really an experimental fic
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: yeah I don't know about this one. I've been thinking about it for a while, but I dunno. Usually I finish a story before I put it up, but seeing as how I don't want to completely massacre two perfectly good characters. I decided to put the first part up and let you guys decide if I should keep going or not. This is a Shino/Karui, post war. **

**Please forgive faulty grammar, spelling OOCness**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Trust me, if I did I'd make sure that everybody knew it.**

"She's kinda cute, huh."

Shino looked up at his friend raising an eyebrow at the brown haired male beside him.

Kiba rolled his eyes at him grabbing Shino's head and directing it towards the two girls sitting on a fallen tree a few feet away. "Hinata's friend, she's cute isn't she?"

Shino stared at the girl in question, she was sitting next to Hinata with one leg pulled up to her chest and the other off the side of the stump. Her body was turned so she was facing the pale eyed girl next to her as they talked. A kunoichi from Kumogakure she had crimson red hair, bright gold eyes and chocolate coloured skin. Sure she was fairly attractive, but one important fact about the girl could not be ignored.

"She's very aggressive."

Kiba seemed to think about that for a second, "Nah, she's just ...passionate." A grin slid onto his face as he gazed at the redhead.

Shino just stared at the ninken ninja for a moment, his glasses and collar of his jacket covering the sceptical look on his face. "Yeah, that bruise on the side of your face looks very passionate."

Kiba flushed rubbing the sore spot with the palm of his hand.

The war was over, Naruto defeated Tobi and everything was going back to normal. Konoha was still filled with shinobi from all over the five allied nations, some were there for diplomatic reasons while other just didn't seem to want to leave just yet. Killer Bee was one of those who were taking what he called a 'well deserved vacation' and team Samui insisted on staying with their sensei, until he decide's to return.

During the war the Hyuuga heiress had become close friends with Karui and decided to introduce the kunoichi to the rest of her squad members. Unfortunately Kiba made the fatal mistake of referring to her master as an over dramatic geyser and earned one hell of a punch to the jaw. It was quite a scene, with Hinata barely being able to restrain the girl from beating him into a big mushy pulp.

"Yeah well, I probably deserved that one." Shino just gave a sigh. When Kiba had made up his mind it was almost impossible to convince him that he was wrong, even when he really was.

"Why don't you go talk to her."

"You know what, your right! You know what they say second times the charm." Kiba stood up grinning brightly, making to walk over to the girls in front of them.

Akamaru, who had been sitting quietly next to the two, suddenly gave a few low barks as if he were mumbling to himself covering his face with a paw. His partner immediately spun around to glare at him before he said loudly, "She is NOT, going to eat me alive!"

Akamaru uncovered his face and cocked his head to the side giving a few more barks and then stopping waiting for a reply.

"Well no, not really. I just figured I'd go over and say hi or something."

The large dog whined low in his throat, he barked something along the lines of "He's hopeless, at this point he'll get himself killed."

Shino watched as the two argued, the sight was very amusing and he soon found himself trying to hold back a chuckle.

Suddenly Kiba's head snapped towards him, while Akamaru seemed to be barking a suggestion.

"Hey that's a great idea!" Before Shino could ask what this brilliant idea was, his arm was snatched up and he was dragged along towards the kunoichi who was previously being discussed with Akamaru following close behind.

Had anyone else suddenly touched him like this, they would be covered in a swarm of kikaichu before they even knew what was happening. But of course this was Kiba, his teammate and best friend. Shino's gotten used to his sudden bursts of contact and learned to accept the invasion of his personal space.

As they neared the two girls Shino felt Kiba's grasp on his wrist tighten just a bit, before they stopped and he let go.

"Hey Hinata, Karui." The ninken ninja said sounding a little nervous. The redhead looked up at the three standing in front of them, a look of annoyance on her face when her eyes fell on Kiba. Akamaru came up to the girl and nuzzled her leg earning a smile and pat on his head.

The dog gave a few quiet barks as Karui started scratching behind his ears and stroking his fur. Loosely translated these barks meant, "And that, is how its done." Kiba growled staring down at his partner, who seemed to be grinning at him.

Golden eyes snapped up to fix on Kiba's face forcing the words he was about to say back down his throat.

"Kiba-kun, was there something you wanted to say?" Hinata said trying to dissolve some of the tension in the air. Kiba tried to say something, but Karui's merciless gaze had him speechless.

Akamaru groaned and used his tail to hit Shino's leg. Shino looked down at the dog and raised an eyebrow in question, before he realised why they dragged him there in the first place.

"Its getting close to lunch time," he started, looking down at the redhead. "Kiba was thinking that maybe you and Karui-san would like to go and get something to eat." Said redhead seemed to be staring at him with fascination, making his breath hitch when their gazes locked. Well more along the lines of Karui was staring at him and he found himself trapped in her gaze.

Akamaru whined and Karui realised that she had stopped petting him. Kiba seemed to find his voice, giving a grin while rubbing the back of his neck, a faint blush covering his cheeks.

"Yeah, Ichiraku's is just a couple of miles from here-"

"O.K."

"What...?" Kiba's eyes were wide he honestly didn't expect her to agree.

"Sure, why not?" Karui stood up, "I am getting a bit hungry, let's go Hinata."

Pale eyes were just as wide as Kiba's. She didn't expect her to agree to Kiba's suggestion either. "Alright." Hinata stood up and the two girls started walking towards town while the boys just stood there.

"I can't believe she agreed." Kiba said running a hand through his brown hair.

Akamaru started barking his head tilting to the side.

"I was NOT, just standing there like an idiot!"

Shino didn't say anything, he barely even heard the argument going on beside him. His eyes were fixed ahead staring at the two kunoichi now walking away.

"Let's go." The kikaichu master said as he started walking down the road, "They'll make it there long before we do if you two keep arguing."

**TC?**

**Well really that's all up to you so, please review**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm so sorry this took so long but I've been super busy and haven't really gotten much time to update. To be honest I wasn't expecting any feedback, but I'm super happy for the reviews and follows I've gotten so far. I've got some free time so the next chapter should be out this time next week, I've decided to set a deadline cause that's the only way I can function. **

**So this chapter is pretty short, the next one will be longer cause my mind is running with some ideas right now.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **

The tension had lessened once they made it to the ramen stand. Despite their first meeting Kiba and Karui had a lot more in common than either of them thought. Shino was surprised to see how similar they were. The redhead was just as strong willed and determined as his best friend was, almost to the point of stubbornness.

Karui didn't seem to be like most of the girls he knew. She was strong, brave, proud and very confident. The standard checklist for any hardened kunoichi really, however the redhead's competitiveness and aggression stood out the most.

The kikaichu master was watching as the two exchanged fighting techniques and old mission stories. Kiba boasted about the last S-ranked mission he went on, conveniently excluding the parts that involved Shino and Akamaru more than they did him. Karui didn't seem all that convinced of his supposed heroics, but chose to ignore the omissions in favour of laughing at the ninken ninja's animated descriptions.

By now it was getting late and the five of them were wandering around the village, Shino and Hinata were trailing behind Kiba and Karui while Akamaru trotted ahead drifting from side to side when he caught an interesting scent.

Hinata smiled, "It looks like their getting along."

"Well," Shino started adjusting his glasses a bit while he spoke, "they do have similar personalities. Plus Kiba seems to have developed a crush Karui-san, I doubt he'd make a mistake like the one he made earlier."

"He does?" The pale eyed girl asked in disbelief, staring up at the two ahead. Karui had her hands on her knees, desperately gasping for air as she laughed at the boy beside her. Who, for the most part, was laughing nervously rubbing the back of his neck while his face practically glowed a deep red.

A small smile appeared on Hinata's face, "Hopefully it'll work out."

Shino gave a slight nod, almost unnoticeable under the hood of his coat. They caught up to the two, the redhead had managed to stop laughing while Kiba still looked like he was trying to force down his blush.

"I should get going." Karui said looking up at the night sky, "Samui won't be happy if I stay out all night."

"Umm," the brunette started grabbing Shino's arm, "could you excuse us for a minute."

Karui stared at the two for a moment before shrugging, "Whatever, I'm leaving anyway."

Kiba dragged the kikaichu master a few feet away before whispering, "Hey, Shino. You live near the north side of the village, right?"

Shino raised an eyebrow at him, Kiba already knows where he lives so what's the point in asking now?, "Yes."

The brunette looked over the others shoulder giving a quick glance to the redhead behind him to make sure she hasn't left, "Could you do me a favour?"

"What favour?"

"Well the hotel Karui is staying in is on that side too, so I was wondering if you could walk with her and... I dunno, put in a good word for me."

"Why don't you just walk her back yourself?"

The ninken ninja's blush returned full force, "It'd be too obvious."

Akamaru suddenly appeared beside them and gave a few quick barks, obviously grinning at his partner.

Kiba growled, "I am not scared of her! And stop calling me cute!"

"See you guys later."

Both ninja turned to see Karui with her back turned already walking away. Kiba looked up at Shino with pleading eyes, when he didn't react Akamaru nuzzled his nose against his leg whining softly.

Shino gave a barely audible sigh, sadly blackmail by dog is nothing new to him. The sound made Kiba grin from ear to ear, he turned his friend around pushing him in the direction that the kunoichi was walking in. "Make me look good."

It's times like these when he wishes he didn't have team mates. How was he supposed to do that? He didn't have Kiba's vibrant personality or Hinata's endearing kindness. He didn't know if he'd be able to start a conversation with the girl let alone, 'Make Kiba look good'.

Giving another sigh he leapt off after Karui, making a mental note of yet another favour he's done for Kiba. He caught up to the girl and landed next to her, Shino tried to make as much noise as he could so he wouldn't startle her.

Unfortunately he failed.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, Karui had spun around and drawn her sword which was now aimed at his coat covered throat. At that point he had to admit,

She's fast.

"Shino?" The girl's eyes focused on his face, before she let her arms slump, "What are you crazy?! What the hell do you think your doing, I could've killed you!"

"I doubt that." Shino said absently checking if his coat had any cuts.

Karui glared, "Excuse me?"

Her temper's pretty fast too.

"My home is on that side of the village too," he said quickly trying to redirect the girls attention, although his voice was still as cool as ever. "I thought I could walk with you."

The redhead snorted as she sheathed her katanna, "I can walk myself back, I don't need any protection."

"I wasn't offering protection, just some company."

Karui stared up at him, biting her lip slightly in thought. Shino stared back at the girl, although she couldn't see it, he found himself trapped in that golden gaze all over again unable to look away.

"Fine," the redhead said turning back to start walking again. "Just cause you asked."

**Chapter 2 complete: please review**

**Suggestions are appreciated. But if you must flame, flame without profanity.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Alrighty then, so here's chapter 2. Not really all that happy with it, but I'll wait for you guys to decide. If you have any suggestions, I'm open to any ideas so don't be shy.**

**Special shout out to Fanwoman. Admittedly I am a little fuzzy on Naruto details so thanks for the heads up. Really appreciate it.**

**Apologies for spelling grammar and OOCness.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.**

"Hey, Shino!"

Shino turned around and saw his best friend running up to him with Akamaru by his side.

"So how'd it go?" Kiba asked once he reached the other ninja, staring at the ground with a light blush on his face.

"How did what go?"

The ninken ninja's head snapped up and he glared at his team mate, "How did it go with Karui, what else?!"

"It went fine." Shino said turning back to continue walking.

"Yeah?" Kiba asked voice filled with hope as he walked after him, "What happened?"

"Not much." Unknown to both Kiba and Akamaru, a deep blush was slowly making its way across Shino's cheeks, thankfully covered up by the collar and hood of his coat.

~FLASHBACK~

It was an average night for Konoha. Although it was getting late, the streets were still filled with with people. Restaurants, street vendors and taverns still buzzed with activity.

Women strolled along beside the shops peeking in to a door every now and then, the odd drunk went stumbling from side to side ignoring the cautious calls from his not so intoxicated friends. Children were still running around giving happy cries as they played in the streets.

All in all, a pleasant night for a village that was at war just a while back.

Shino walked silently beside the red headed kunoichi, glancing around at their surroundings through his glasses.

Karui had her arms by her sides, back straight, shoulders back, chin up, eyes steady. The perfect posture for a soldier, although her facade seemed to slip every now and then when her eyes caught sight something interesting.

Shino thought back to Kiba's request, not exactly sure as to how he was supposed to go about this. He's never really had an interest in girls, to him they were either a fellow shinobi he was working with (or against) or a civilian he was supposed to protect.

Sure he knows how dating is supposed to work, but knowing how to do something isn't the same as actually doing it. So with no other options he figured he should at least ask something.

"What do you think of Kiba?"

Karui's head snapped towards him, clearly surprised that he suddenly spoke, "What?"

"Kiba, what do you think about him?" Shino repeated, much to his annoyance. His head still facing forward, watching the girl from the corner of his eye.

The redhead shrugged, "I dunno, he's O.K I guess."

"You guess?"

"He's..." Karui furrowed her eyebrows in thought, "I mean, he seems like a nice guy, he's really funny. So I guess he's O.K." The girl looked up at him, "Why do you ask?"

"You two seemed really tense this morning, besides its not everyday that someone manages to leave a bruise like that on Kiba's face."

Karui tensed gold eyes lit up with anger, "He insulted my sensei, I couldn't just stand there and do nothing!"

There's that temper again. How Kiba was going to deal with such an aggressive girl is a mystery.

"I never said you should have," Shino said calmly sliding his hands into his pockets, "What I mean is your speed is impressive."

The girls eyes widened slightly in surprise and she looked away, tucking a strand of hair into her bandanna. "Oh. Well... Speed exercises are basic training in Kumo, you need to be able to move fast enough to protect your team mates and attack at the same time."

That much Shino couldn't argue with. He's seen the girl fight alongside her team, they were fast. And they didn't seem to need to speak in-order to communicate. When one's side was exposed the other already had them covered against any on coming attack and vice-versa.

"So what about you?" Karui asked staring at him.

He stared back at her an eyebrow raised in question, although she probably couldn't see it, "What about me?"

"Well," she started, "Hinata has her byakugan and Kiba has Akamaru, so what do you have? What kind of jutsu do you use?"

The question didn't really surprise him, they hadn't spoken much so it was bound to come up at some point, still it took him a few moments to answer.

"I am from the Aburame clan, we're insect handlers."

"Insect handlers?"

"Yes," he started, "When I was born, I was implanted with a breed of beetles called Kikaichu. They feed off of my chakra and in return, allow me to use them at my disposal."

"Implanted?" Karui looked confused, "What your telling me that right now-"

"There's an insect nest inside of me, yes." The kikaichu master kept his gaze ahead it was a few moments before he realised that Karui was completely silent.

It was the usual reaction he got from people when they found out about his abilities. Some would fall into an awkward silence, some would freak out. Some would run away while others, usually fellow shinobi wouldn't react at all.

However it was a rare occurrence for someone to react like this...

"Can I see?" The girl suddenly asked, making Shino stare back at her.

Karui was staring at him, gold burning with curiosity.

"See what?"

"The bugs, can I see?"

"Why?"

"Well we have tracker bugs in Kumo too," She looked away staring at the ground, "but I've never heard of them actually nesting inside of someone."

Karui looked back up at Shino, the girl seemed to flush when she noticed that he was staring at her and she snapped. "Are you going to show me or not!"

This wasn't a situation that the Aburame was familiar with, he's never met anyone who actually wanted to see the beetles, curious or not.

Shino pulled a hand out of his pocket and held it out towards the girl.

By now they were standing still in the middle of the street, a couple of kids were running around them, screaming loudly as they chased one another.

Tiny black beetles started crawling out over his hand. Karui took a few steps towards him and leaned forward watching as the bugs covered his hand before retreating back into his sleeve. They did this over and over again, stopping at his fingertips before going back.

"If they feed on your chakra from the inside," the redhead leaned forward a bit more, "does it hurt?"

Shino wasn't sure how to answer her, he wasn't sure if he should answer her. It really wasn't any of her business.

But for some reason he told her anyway.

Sort off...

"A shinobi is one that endures."

The girl glanced up at him, "Is that a yes?"

"You can't catch me!" One of the little boy's playing around the two shouted running away from the others.

Before he could answer, Karui was pushed hard from behind and slammed into Shino sending both of them crashing to the ground. On reflex he wrapped his arms around the girl's waist and shut his eyes before impact.

"Ow."

Shino's eyes snapped open at the sound. The first thing he saw was crimson red hair, before two gold orbs blinked at him seemingly dazed.

Karui froze.

She was lying on top of him fingers gripping his undercoat, eyes more than just a little wide.

It was extremely awkward. Shino just lay there staring back at her arms still circled tightly around her waist, staring into that bright gaze that seemed to trap him so easily.

He didn't know what to do. No ones ever gotten this close to him before. Other than Kiba that is.

And of course the occasional enemy, but usually the kikaichu would sense the sudden intrusion of personal space and take care of that before it became a problem. Which begs the question,

Why were they still so calm now?

Karui blinked and abruptly pulled back, seeming to snap out of her shocked stupor. The girl pulled out of his grip, stood up and took a few steps back.

Taking her lead Shino stood up as well calmly brushing the dirt off his clothes, when he looked back up at Karui he found her staring at him eyes running over his head in close examination.

That's when he realised that the hood of his coat had slipped off during the fall. He quickly pulled it back over his head and turned away to start walking.

"We should get going."

The rest of their walk was uneventful, it was silent and awkward but of course neither of them was planning on doing something about it.

Shino left the kunoichi at the hotel giving her a brief nod before walking away. By the time he got home he was more than just a little bit confused.

He shut the front door behind him, slipped off his shoes and made for his room. Barely paying attention to his surroundings as he did. Why didn't the kikaichu attack? They didn't even react to the fall and usually it doesn't take much for them to move in his defence.

"You're home late."

Shino was so distracted he didn't even notice his father sitting at the kitchen table.

He stood still and glanced at his father who was staring down at a scroll in front of him.

"Hinata introduced us to a friend of her's, a kunoichi who was stationed with her during the war. It took longer than expected."

Shibi gave a small nod, "There's food in the fridge if you're hungry."

"I already ate." Shino was about to walk away when a thought crossed his mind, if anyone would know why the kikaichu didn't attack it would be his father.

"Father."

"Yes."

"Hinata's friend, she was knocked into me by some kids today. Usually the kikaichu react to that kind of sudden contact, but this time they didn't."

"Oh," Shibi said in a monotone voice eyes not leaving the scroll for one second, but it was clear to Shino that his father was listening. "When did this happen?"

"A few moments ago." Shino's fingers started fidgeting slightly, the movement was barely detectable.

Shibi leaned back a bit and glanced at his son, "I'm sure its nothing, if she's your team mates friend its probably because they don't see her as a threat."

Shino thought about this for a moment, it seemed like a logical explanation. Giving a kurt nod to his father, he walked on to his room.

Little did Shino know that his father was now sitting at the table with a small smirk on his face.

~ END FLASHBACK ~

"So did she say anything about me?" Kiba was walking by his side while Akamaru trotted by his side.

Shino told Kiba that he'd walked Karui back to her hotel, leaving out most of the unimportant details. Why would those matter anyway?

"Yes."

"Yeah," Kiba's eyes lit up, "What she say?"

Shino shrugged, a small movement of his shoulders. "She said that you're a nice guy."

The brunette frowned, "That's it?"

Shino turned to look at his friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I thought I'd get something better than, 'he's a nice guy'."

"She also said that your funny."

Kiba huffed, arms folded over his chest. "I thought you were going to make me look good."

Shino gave a sigh, "Why don't you go talk to her yourself?"

"Because that'd be too obvious!" Kiba shouted glaring at his friend, "Karui isn't the kind of girl you can just go and ask out!"

"How do you know that?"

"Well-... She- you saw her. Would you just ask her out?"

The blush Shino had before returned, although he had no idea why. He cleared his throat, turning his gaze forward, "You'll never know until you try."

Kiba let out a defeated breath, "Fine, but I can't today. Hinata said that Karui's training with her team today."

"Training?"

"Yeah," Kiba placed his hands behind his head, "apparently their going stirr crazy waiting for their sensei to wanna go home."

At that they continued their walk. With Kiba humming a low tune and Akamaru giving a confused whimper at the blush on Shino's face.

**A/N: that's it for now, next chapter will be in Karui's POV, I thought you guys might want to know how Kumo's no. 1 kickass kunoichi feels about the situation.**

**Review, flame without profanity.**


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